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recommended route Stage 11

High Scardus Trail Stage 11 Radomirë - Grama

Select · 2 reviews · Hiking trail · Albania

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High Scardus Trail Organization

Inspiring encounters: With the Shepherds in the Korab Mountains
Photo: Trail Angels/ G.Mussnig, CC BY-ND, High Scardus Trail Organization

Sophie Grandclaude
on the September 14, 2022

Journée assez tranquille! NOus avons dormi près du camping ...

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Tibet Feeling at the High Scardus Trail: From Radomire at the foot of the Korab massif over a magnificent mountain pass (2.090m) to the wide high pastures of Grama.

>>>> ATTENTION: Detailled informations on how to plan your trip, safety instructions, regulations for border crossing etc. are provided by the official website www.high-scardus-trail.com <<<<

moderate

Distance 11.3 km

5:00 h

851 m

447 m

2,111 m

1,231 m

On the high plateaus of the shepherds: Hardly any other daily stage on the High Scardus Trail offers you a more intensive insight into the semi-nomadic way of life of the shepherds in the mountains of the Western Balkans. Already at the first small mountain pass you will meet the first summer camp of the shepherds and soon after you will recognize their large herds, guarded by the attentive Sharri dogs as a white spot in the green mountain flanks. Scenically, the crossing of the 2,090m high mountain pass is the undeniable highlight. Guarded by mighty yellow rock towers, it offers you a breathtaking view of the Korab mountains and the wide Grama plateau. The stage place, the alp of Grama spreads a breath of Tibet Feeling, nevertheless, one stays overnight in the midst of a big night camp and you will be able to observe fascinated the work of the shepherds and their herding dogs.

Author’s recommendation

The huts are very basic, tent camping is recommended. The place itself is an exceptionally beautiful stage place.

Author

High Scardus Trail

Update: July 07, 2022

Difficulty

moderate

Technique

Stamina

Experience

Landscape

Highest point

2,111 m

Lowest point

1,231 m

Best time of year

Jan

Feb

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May

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Jul

Aug

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Dec

Track types

Show elevation profile

Safety information

Attention: The stage is currently not well marked in some places, which in combination with difficult to see sections of the trail and poorly detailed maps can lead to serious orientation problems in some places. We therefore strongly recommend that you only hike the trail with a guide who knows the area. If you still want to hike on your own, great experience in using GPS devices or the use of map apps (incl. the possibility of offline map storage; Outdooractive app recommended) is necessary!

Start

Radomirë opposite Hotel Korabi (at the point where the path to the top of Korab branches off). (1,260 m)

Coordinates:

41.814119, 20.488742

DMS

41°48'50.8"N 20°29'19.5"E

UTM

34T 457535 4629264

w3w

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Show on Map

Destination

Huts of Grama

Turn-by-turn directions

From the two guesthouses you continue along the road until you reach the houses at the upper edge of Radomirë. Here the path leads steeply uphill (south) past a large drinking water well and always steeply through beautiful pine forests. After you have reached the forest line, a beautiful view of the opposite erosion gorge opens up to you. You then cross a small saddle, behind which is the first large shepherd's camp. The rest of the trail is wide and continues uphill to the southwest and you reach the wide valley floor where there are more large shepherds' camps. Now the path leads along the big stream into an impressive valley basin. In the large basin, the visible path leads in a large arc in the Southwest to a prominent saddle, which is guarded by a large yellow rock tower. From the saddle (altitude 2090m) there is an impressive view of the surrounding Korab mountains and of the wide grassy plains of the alp of Grama, which will be the today´s stage destination. From the col, a good path leads over a rather steep grassy slope but without any difficulties down to the plateau. You will head to the water reservoir, which can bee seen throughout the descent from the col. Just behind (west) of the reservoir, at the edge of a beautiful forest, there are located several small huts, managed by a local herders family. This is the today´s goal. Offering a quite simple but charming accommodation within a foremost gorgeous scenery.

ATTENTION: There are two accomodations available on the plateau of Grama. If you take the second one, which shortens the next hiking day, you will proceed from the reservoir on the High Scardus Trail towards Rabdisht. After 15 Minutes, crossing then the grassy plains of the plateau, a side path branches off clearly visible, which you now follow in a westerly direction. This path leads to a prominent edge of the terrain, from which the alpine huts of Grama, marked in several maps as “Korabi Mountain Camping” are already clearly visible. The rest of the way is very steep, but on a passable path down to the stream and in a few meters on the opposite bank of the stream to these group of huts oin the middle of a large sheep pasture. The simple character of the huts, as well as the great hospitality of the herders family are quite the same, as the huts beside the reservoir.

By road

From Kukës you do not take the motorway, but the road SH31 past the new airport to the south. A few kilometres south of the airport a small road branches off to the left, which winds along the mountains to the south (this road continues in many bends to Peshkopia). After about 25 km, a small asphalt road branches off again to the left to Radomirë, which you will reach in a few kilometres.

Parking

In a suitable place in the village.

Coordinates

41.814119, 20.488742

DMS

41°48'50.8"N 20°29'19.5"E

UTM

34T 457535 4629264

w3w

///reassessed.needier.hummed

Show on Map

Arrival by train, car, foot or bike

Book recommendations for this region:

Equipment

General

Backpack approx. 30-40 liters with hip belt
Rain cover for the backpack
Telescopic poles

Clothing

Trekking shoes at least category B (preferably ankle-high for the pathless passages)
Flipflops or similar for the accommodations
2 pairs of hiking socks
underwear
hiking pants softshell or similar (wind- and water-repellent - the High Scardus Trail runs through alpine regions)
Hiking pants spare (also for accommodation)
Shorts
T-shirt quick drying
T-shirt fast drying spare (quantity depending on the length of the tour)
Top long first layer (e.g. Transtex-Sleeve) + replacement
Top long second layer (e.g. sleeve made of fleece or merino wool) + replacement
Softshell jacket or similar
Clothing for accommodation
rain jacket (hardshell jacket waterproof and breathable)
umbrella if necessary
Rain pants (hardshell pants waterproof and breathable)
Sun protection for the head (sun hat or cap)
Hat (can get cold even in summer!)

Hygiene/medication/personal items

small travel towel
personal hygiene items personal medicines (important medicines in addition to personal medicines are e.g. Imodium, charcoal tablets, Bepanthen and a painkiller like Ibuprofen or Parkemed)
Blister plaster
Pocket knife, small scissors
Sunglasses (tight-fitting with 100% UV protection and tint category 3)
Sunscreen (SPF at least 30, water/sweat resistant, broad spectrum protection, not older than 1 year)
Lip protection (SPF at least 20)
Outdoor first aid kitpossibly spare glasses
small LED headlamp
bivy sack (at least a very light one)
Handkerchiefspassport + copycredit card/cash (at many accommodations you can only pay with cash)
Border Crossing Permit
Small dictionaries

Orientation

Travel documents printout
Orientation App (e.g. Outdooractive with Pro-Account, so you can save the map sections offline)
if necessary additional GPS-device
Cell phone (smartphone for orientation app) + charger
Powerbank for cell phone (not all accommodations have sockets)
if necessary power socket adapter

Food and drinks

Drinking bottles (depending on temperature and personal drinking needs 1,5-3 liters; the sources are shown in the map)
Food for the day (the respective shopping possibilities can be seen in the map)

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Provider: High Scardus Trail Organization | Source: High Scardus Trail Organization

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Rating

4.0

(2)

Sophie Grandclaude

September 14, 2022 · Community

Journée assez tranquille! NOus avons dormi près du camping Korabi Mountain qui était fermé. Il y a une source juste à côté des bergers!

When did you do this route? August 24, 2022

Comment

Rüdiger Mertz

August 22, 2022 · Community

Einfache Etappe, relativ gut zu finden. Vom Pass gibt es einen gut sichtbaren Abstiegsweg, der nicht mit dem GPX-file übereinstimmt, aber sehr gut zu gehen ist. Besser als der Direktabstieg. Wir haben an einem der Bergseen oberhalb des Stausees gezeltet, das war sehr schön. Wasser gab es aus einem Bach am Steilhang oberhalb des Sees.

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Reviews

Difficulty

moderate

Distance

11.3 km

Duration

5:00 h

Ascent

851 m

Descent

447 m

Highest point

2,111 m

Lowest point

1,231 m

Linear route Multi-stage route Scenic

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